


Mythological Phantasmagoria

by Levottomuus



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Developing Friendships, F/M, Fanwork of Fanwork, Fluff and Humor, Free Time Events (Dangan Ronpa), Getting to Know Each Other, Nerdiness, Talent Discussion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25860220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levottomuus/pseuds/Levottomuus
Summary: Shinguji attempts to further his research despite the unfortunate circumstances he and his target find themselves in.Nanami attempts to play her game.
Relationships: Shinguji Korekiyo & Nanami Chiaki
Comments: 10
Kudos: 24
Collections: Blackened Skies Fanworks Challenge Entries





	Mythological Phantasmagoria

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CSpratt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSpratt/gifts), [MrCynical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrCynical/gifts).



> My submission for the fanworks contest for Blackened Skies, courtesy of CSpratt and MrCynical. I can heartily recommend reading their work, it's quite an interesting read!
> 
> I don't write normal interactions, forgive me. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy your read anyway!

The usual lively chatter of the dining hall had continuously died down over time, as the various groupings have made their way out of the room, both social cues and their stomachs satisfied. Soon enough, even the two youngsters responsible for the catering of the ship's ensemble have concluded their work in the kitchen and, with an acknowledging nod, paid their goodbyes to one of the two people who have still remained in the hall despite their empty plates; with the other too focused on other things to notice their attempts, the pair simply decided it's for the best not to interrupt any further, and they wordlessly left the place, leaving the couple within undisturbed.

The room then fell into an almost complete silence, with the only sounds coming from the other member of the cast who hasn't left yet; and the ears of the Ultimate Anthropologist have since grown accustomed to the effects, having picked them up much earlier already. In a way, he could say he was interested in knowing more about the source of them, as well as the person who held the device from which the tones originated. After a momentary contemplation, he convinced himself to investigate the matter further and under closer inspection, and as such, stood up from his chair and almost inaudibly made his way to the subject of his intrigue, who hasn't even raised her pink eyes from the contraption she held in her hands.

"Nanami-san," he initiated the conversation without hesitation, knowing that despite her utmost concentration towards the handheld, she was certainly already aware of his presence, as his prior observations could attest to, "I could not help but notice your absolute devotion to your primary source of entertainment this eve, even during mealtime itself, when you were taking part in Akamatsu-san's conversation," he continued calmly and calculatingly, "therefore, I grew interested in this gadget of yours which appears to have stolen your attention entirely this particular evening. Would you mind me querying about it, or even merely watch you play so I may understand the appeal better? All in the name of my anthropological research, naturally..." Shinguji finished his opening statement with an index finger raised, hoping that his argument would sway the Ultimate Gamer to consent to his request.

"Wait, so you were... actually, never mind..." Chiaki retorted half-heartedly, eyes still locked on the screen in front of her as she flicked her fingers over the buttons with lightning speed and precision, "Sure, I don't mind you watching me. This game is pretty great, even though it's not the first time I've played it..." she invited Korekiyo to the seat next to her, stifling a yawn in between.

"Thank you very much, Nanami-san. I shall not pass on such a gracious offer," Shinguji contently replied, leaning his cheek on one of his bandaged hands. He immediately sat down next to her and began scanning the contents of the console, his yellow eyes bright with excitement. "If I am not mistaken, this appears to be one of the Japanese-styled roleplaying games, is it not?" he mused, pointing around the handheld in such a way that it would not hinder Nanami's view, "The traditional pixel art style of the game, as well as the fact you appear to control multiple characters, lead me to assume so, at least."

Chiaki quickly perked up following his statement. "Huh, I wouldn't expect you to know so much about video games... Kiyo. I can call you Kiyo, right?" she cautiously asked, not intending to break the conversation with something so minor now that someone actually seemed to take some interest in her passion.

"It is quite fine. And yes, part of an anthropologist's research may lead to the study of new media or art forms and how they develop along with the people that create and indulge in them..." Korekiyo expertly explained, "For the science is not merely a field that dabbles in how the societies of the past have contributed to the overall value of human existence, but even the present. As such, I must expand my knowledge on matters that could even seem rather irrelevant for the study of people and their culture. But, of course, I do not intend to imply that video games are irrelevant or uncultured. Indeed," he raised his finger again, very absorbed in his speech, "it is not even the strangest phenomenon that deals in the world of the digital. Since the Internet is man-made as well, in order to truly encompass the whole depth of this humanly creation, I had to extend my research to... various corners of its impressive database."

\- "Oh?" Chiaki interjected, sensing a bit of discomfort nudge at her with the other Ultimate's last few words.

"I apologise, it appears I had gone on a tangent there, and not in the best of places either..." Korekiyo quickly dismissed the intention to continue with that line of thought, "Nevertheless, as surface-level compared to you as it is, my knowledge on this matter tells me that video games are surprisingly rich with call-backs, homages and references to old civilisations, their legends and the cultural origins of humanity. Especially JRPGs, in fact; given the sound cues I have noticed prior, I assumed this is one of them, which is why I have approached you to confirm that suspicion."

Giving the anthropologist a slight sheepish smile, Chiaki nodded in understanding and assent. "I'm glad that you think that about games. I really believe that they're an art form just like writing or composing, given the creativity people have to have to give players so many unique and original experiences... but anyway, yeah, this is Final Fantasy VI. One of my favourites," Nanami's eyes sparkled as she said that, "I'm playing with some self-imposed restrictions, cuz the game is pretty easy. I mean, even a beginner would beat it, I think..."

\- "That is also something to consider from a cultural standpoint, I would be inclined to believe. Accessibility means that a wider demographic of consumers is likely to give the medium a chance, and reach a satisfactory experience with it. At the same time, having the game be open to player intervention, such as in your case, provides it with a further replayability and gameplay variation, I would assume."

\- "Exactly..." Chiaki pumped her fists, almost sending her handheld tumbling down from the table; fortunately, it only landed in her lap, "Whoops. Anyway, even if they're not your thing, you still know a lot about games, Kiyo. That's really cool."

\- "I am delighted by your compliment, Nanami-san. Well, to arrive to my point - I would be glad to see some specific instances of those mythological references, if I may ask that of you."

The Ultimate Gamer sweetly smiled, nodding resolutely. "Sure, let me just set things up. I'm playing a no magic run, so I can only rely on the abilities of my characters. In this game, magic is taught to you by espers, which you equip the same way as weapons and armour. They also give you stat boosts when you level up, and you can also summon them in fights. But that counts as magic, so I have them all unequipped right now..." she elaborated as she swiftly made some arrangements in the menu screens, seemingly incomprehensible for the tall boy next to her, and within seconds, she was ready for the showcase. "There, now I just need to get into a fight..."

Korekiyo eyed the screen intently, his anticipation reaching the boiling point. How exactly do video games incorporate mythological beings into their narrative? How do they weave them within the world so they preserve the setting? And do they serve a purpose beyond just aesthetics? These questions crept into the anthropologist's mind as he focused at the pixelated screen, seeing Nanami walk her character on the world map until a sudden transition.

"Here we go," Chiaki glanced over at Kiyo, "this is the battle screen. Now, I wait for my character to have a turn," she pointed out as one of the enemy sprites flashed white and one of her characters was hit, indicated by a sprite change and white numbers deducting his hit points, "and now I summon the esper I equipped on Locke, which was Cait Sith, I think..."

\- "Cait Sith, the cat faerie of Scottish tales? Most intriguing..." gasped Korekiyo, placing a hand over his mask. "Did you know that most people pronounce the name incorrectly? At first glance, you would probably assume it is to be pronounced something akin to 'Kate Sith', much like the given name and the group of antagonists from Star Wars..." he said, shaking his head, "but in fact, the correct way is actually equivalent to 'Cat She'. Perhaps it bears a correlation to the way the word banshee is pronounced, given that both creatures technically originate in Celtic mythology."

\- "Huh... I never knew. Thanks, now there's one less person who says it wrong..." she chuckled, her cheeks tinged slightly red. "See, that's it!" she pointed at the screen, as a pixel drawing of a black cat with white spots wearing a crown appeared on the battlefield.

"That is... a surprisingly accurate representation, I must say. In folklore, Cait Sith is indeed a crown-wearing black cat with a single white spot over the heart. Impressive." Kiyo complimented. “So in this case, the mythological beings seem to be connected to these summons you speak of, Nanami-san. That is indeed a fine way to connect the fantastical with the fantastical, as it were; the mythos of the real world combined with that of the fictional one. Ingenious, really…”

\- “Yeah, it’s clever, isn’t it?” beamed Chiaki. Tapping away at the buttons, she continued: "On Edgar's turn, I think I'll be summoning Odin? There's so many of these..."

\- "Odin, the chief of gods in Norse mythology, the god of wind and overseer of the afterlife... A most complex deity, in fact, as it is even disputed whether it is an original or imported concept altogether," elaborated Kiyo as the mauve-haired lass nodded. When the sprite of a figure clad in heavy armour and riding a horse appeared, the boy tilted his head to the side: "Well, Odin is usually depicted in a cloak and a hat, much like you would imagine a wizard; he also wields Gungnir, a spear, and not a sword, and his horse, Sleipnir, has eight legs... but all things considered, this is acceptable." He tossed a lock of his black hair aside from his face, taking a close look at the Ultimate Gamer for a second. "It appears the battle has ended favourably for you, Nanami-san."

\- "Yeah, it did. Odin uses an instant kill attack, so I'll just switch the espers around and find another random encounter."

\- "Oh, are there more? I would say it is quite alright to stop here, but frankly, I cannot conceal my curiosity."

\- "There's like thirty of them, but not all are references, I think... anyway." Yawning, the gamer finally stumbled into another battle, Shinguji not even noticing how fast she switched her equipment around as he was keen on analysing her mimicry at that moment. Shifting his attention to the console again, the Game Girl Advance with its chiptune 16-bit soundtrack playing away while the chibi characters moved across the screen, he listened to Nanami once more. "So the next one is... Shoat- I mean, Catoblepas," she corrected herself spontaneously, "sorry, that was the SNES translation name. Because of hardware limitations, they kinda botched the names of a lot of things."

\- "A monster with the body of a buffalo and the head of a boar, capable of petrifying or killing people with its gaze. Originating from Ethiopia, its name is of Greek origin..." Korekiyo didn't pay heed to Chiaki's apologies, fully engrossed in his lecture. Seeing the form on the screen perfectly encapsulate his explanation sent him into a bout of ecstasy, or so it appeared to the slightly uncomfortable pink-eyed lass. "This is truly a beautiful call-back to a very low-profile mythological being. I continue to be impressed with the depth of this game in anthropological context, Nanami-san."

\- "I'm glad to hear that... I think. I suppose there are things that I don't see as what they really are... it's pretty cool how much one can learn from this."

Shinguji nodded in agreement. "We are of the same opinion. The educational value in terms of my field of study is not lost on me. I find this quite enjoyable so far." As she looked at the masked boy's face, she couldn't help but feel that there was a slight curl of lips underneath that cloth he wore over the lower half of his face. Noticing herself staring at her black-haired companion, she turned back to the console.

"Uh, sorry. Well, next up is Celes' turn, so I think that means Bahamut..." she pointed to the screen to reveal a grand dragon smiting the monsters with a great breath attack, as four-digit numbers appeared under all of them, signifying damage in the thousands. The anthropologist, however, seemed to be slightly baffled.

"Well... this is rather... hmm."

\- "What's wrong, Kiyo? You're... frowning." Chiaki noticed.

"Bahamut, from Hebrew mythology, is a great sea whale that lies beneath Kuyutha, the cosmic beast that supports the weight of the world... I imagine, Nanami-san, that you have already noticed what exactly is amiss with this... rather imprecise interpretation."

\- "Ah... right. You know, I think this isn't exactly a reference to... what you just said. Bahamut is a dragon god of justice in the tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. It's supposed to represent that, I think."

Shinguji raised his finger. "Ah, my apologies. I have heard of that board game before, indeed, but I never thought it could inspire other media in such a short amount of existence. Truly, from my perspective, that gives it great anthropological value... even if I still feel rather disconcerted that the original idea of Bahamut is so far removed from the equation. Please continue."

\- "Right... so, this will be Shiva." The girl smiled softly. "She's my favourite esper. I just really like the design."

In that instant, the yellow eyes of his have been buried under his furrowed brow. "Excuse me... did I mishear you, or have you just said 'she' is your favourite?"

\- "Yeah," Chiaki asked quizzically, "what about it? Look..." she tilted the screen slightly towards the recipient, whose eyes practically bulged at the sight ahead of him. A very womanlike, very revealing esper appeared as its signature move, Diamond Dust, played its animation. Korekiyo turned red and clutched both of his temples with his hands. Startled, Nanami inquired: "What's wrong, Kiyo? Has something-"

\- "Wrong indeed! Are you trying to tell me this scantily clad, blue coloured feminine fantasy is supposed to be the great god of Hinduism?! I-I-I... I cannot stand for this atrocity! How can this be?! Why?!" The Ultimate Anthropologist wailed in outrage as his expression turned dark, skin deathly pale, and he stormed off the chair and away from the table, pacing in the middle of the room. "For the love of anthropology, Shiva is the supreme being of the universe, and he is a male god of creation and transformation, not some fanservicey wench-!"

Pausing abruptly as he almost choked on his words, he turned towards Chiaki with a very intense look on his face, making her recoil significantly despite the distance he formed between them. The worry he gleaned from her eyes made him reconsider further ranting. Exhaling deeply, he continued. "…My deepest apologies, Nanami-san, I did not intend to frighten you. I must... compose myself. We shall meet... later." With that, Shinguji strolled out of the dining hall with haste, basically crashing into the door to open them. The Ultimate Gamer sat there dumbfounded, hands still as the console played the victory jingle. As she slowly regained her composure, she sighed and let out a quiet “Oh.”

Her lips curled into a pout, and in a show of defiance, she stood up and said to the empty air before her: "Fanservice or not, I still like her." Aware and disappointed that there was no one to actually hear the complaint, she took the handheld device from the table, stashed it in the pocket of her hoodie and sluggishly made for her dorm room.

When she finally arrived a good half an hour later due to her slow speed and the fact she spontaneously fell asleep on the way, she noticed a neatly folded sheet of paper lying on the floor right beyond the entrance. Taking it into her hands, Chiaki fumbled with the note for a bit and started reading.

"Dear Nanami-san,  
Once again I deeply apologise for my behaviour during my observation. It was most unbecoming of me to become so wrongly heated towards you as the provider of the object of my study as well as my companion. I merely hope you will forgive my inexcusable outburst and allow me to make up for it somehow. I would also greatly appreciate if we could repeat our meeting sometime. It was, in spite of my regrettable interruption, very enjoyable, both thematically and personally.  
Yours truly,  
Shinguji Korekiyo"

A small smile crept up on her face as her cheeks flushed a rosy tinge. Setting the handheld and the note on the nightstand, she walked over to her desk, reached for a notepad and started writing.

"Dear Kiyo,  
..."

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a like, subscribe to my channel and hit the notification bell for more /s
> 
> Seriously speaking, any feedback is appreciated, per usual. Have a lovely day!


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